Experience of being a BME in northen irland

[pleasemothermay1]

Any one has any experience of living in northern irland

With mixed raced children or a mixed family

[WorraLiberty]

It's a bit of a broad question isn't it?

What exactly are your concerns and which part of NI in particular?

[pleasemothermay1]

Well is it still a mono culture or is it a bit more mixed my husband wants to relocate here and I have deep reservations

This is the only part of the U.K. I have experienced overt rascism and that really scares me tbh

I understand it won't be as mixed as most parts of England say Manchester or Cardiff however I would like to be reassured buy any one who is in a mixed family that they find living there ok

[Mouikey]

Northern island is beautiful and i hope one day to move there myself. However there are still issues and culturally it is not very diverse or very accepting of people who are different. Sadly one thing I have seen on many occasions is the racism directed at Eastern Europeans (for example shops having been vandalised and that sort of thing).

I hope that there are others who will come along and give more comfort, I would strongly recommend a couple of visits to get an idea of where you would like to locate to.

[UpsidedownDog]

Born and bred in NI. It all depends on where you go to live. There are certain parts of NI I wouldn't go to live in, such as certain areas of Belfast/Derry etc.

Most areas of Bangor (my home town) are fine as the people are of a more liberal "Live and let live" mindset and don't tend to care what race/religion you are, as long as you're a decent person.

I am hoping to move to Wales in around 4-7yrs time as I don't want my DD growing up in a country where her life would literally have to be on the line before she could have a termination. I also want to live in a part of the UK where marriage equality is not frowned upon by a bunch of religious bigots that will use their Petition of Concern to block progress. Not to mention the fact I grew up through and remember the worst of the Troubles, and believe me, there is still an ever-present mindset of Protestant vs Catholic, which is pretty prevalent in different parts of the country.

TBH, it is a nice coutry to look at and has some tourist areas such as GoT's Dark Hedges, Giant's Causeway, and some others too, but it's not a place I particularly want to stay as long as I absolutely have to.

[UpsidedownDog]

country

[UpsidedownDog]

BTW, I'm from NI, my DC are Welsh and my DH is English, so living here (especially in Derry) was dodgy, especially around the 12th July.

[yabvu]

I don't think it's any better or worse than other parts of the world. You get racists anywhere.


I am hoping to move to Wales in around 4-7yrs time as I don't want my DD growing up in a country where her life would literally have to be on the line before she could have a termination.

That's quite an unusual reason to move to a different country.

[Whatthequack]

I'm from Northern Ireland and still live here. As a PP said it really depends where you live. I live in Bangor, I suppose it's a more liberal area than most in NI, no one really cares about your relgion, race, sexuality etc. I have mixed race friends who live in this town, they don't seem to be victims of racial abuse. I did however get a culture shock when I went to Uni in Belfast (graduated 2013) which was full of people from all over N.I. I was shocked at how narrow minded some can be due to their upbringing, especially my age, as I thought through generations it would dissolve.

[UpsidedownDog]

Maybe so, but I want my DC to have the freedom and rights that the rest of the UK get, but NI doesn't.

I want my DD to be able to choose for herself whether she wants a termination. I don't want a bunch of bigoted politicians, who I don't know and never voted for, to be forcing my DD to go through a pregnancy that she may not want to go through, for whatever reason. AFAIC, my DD possibly wanting a termination is between herself and her GP. It has sweet FA to do with anyone else.

It angers me that gays and lesbians can't get married because the DUP and other Unionist parties are uncomfortable with it. If my DS told me he was gay and wanted to marry his DP, then I would want him to be in a part of the UK where he could do that. The above 2 things being available to my DC are important enough for me to move to the mainland, in order to secure those rights for them.

[RubbleBubble00]

Unless you have family or a very well paid job where you can buy a very nice house then no I wouldn't move to NI.

Big personal my friend who wear a hajab has suffered quite a bit of verbal abuse and she's ni born and raised - it's gotten worse since brexit.

[blueteapot]

In so many other ways NI has a lot of things going for it, but sadly tolerance still isn't one of them. We are in the Derry area but lived in England for approx 8 years - it was worlds apart from the mix of cultures in NI.

In saying that, things will never change unless we change them - settle in the right area and I can't see you having much issue. Is your partner from here? Are you wanting to relocate for work? In that case will you be tied to one area?

[KittyOShea]

It all depends where you go I suppose. I live in South Belfast in the suburbs and it's racially diverse. However there are some areas in the city which are not very welcoming to 'outsiders'

Upside I agree re the bigotry against lgbt and women's rights. Unfortunately politics here is very tribal unless you live in a neutral area OP. It's such a pity as the people here have so many positives.

[SlatternIsTrying]

I live in a lovely town which has a number of families from different parts of the world. There has never been a problem with racism that I am aware of and the community has gone out of its way to accommodate them into town life.

It's like anyplace, there are good places to live and not so good.

I don't believe NI is worse than anywhere else in the UK.

[pleasemothermay1]

Been here for a week now and I have only seen one other black person

Would be able to afford a home in a decent about 250